• Lied to their spouse about their relationship with another person: 28%

• Lied to their spouse about the cost of a recent purchase: 32%

• Downloaded music from the Internet without paying for it: 37%

• Been undercharged or received too much change from cashier and not told him or her: 50%

• Called in sick to work when not ill: 63%

• Taken office supplies from their office for personal use: 63%

• Lied to friends or family members about their appearance to avoid hurting their feelings: 71%

2. Lying is a chronic problem in our society. One of the results of lying is broken relationships. In our text for today James calls for truth-telling, which is absolutely necessary for healthy relationships. ***"Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your ’Yes’ be yes, and your ’No,’ no, or you will be condemned." (James 5:12)***

A few years ago Isuzu ran a series of advertisements featuring “Joe Isuzu.” For the five years that Joe Isuzu was on the air he became the most famous liar in America.

Some of you may remember Joe Isuzu. He was the reptilian TV ad man who looked straight into the camera and said, “Isuzus only cost $9.00. They get 94 miles to the gallon, and if you buy one soon, you will get a free house.” And then superimposed on the screen came the white block letters saying, “He’s lying.”

Joe Isuzu continued, “Isuzus go 300 miles per hour. They seat the same number of people as the Astrodome, and they are roomy enough to carry the state of Texas.” Once again the words, “He’s lying,” appeared on the screen.

Several years ago, a man in Long Beach, California went into a fried chicken place and bought a couple of chicken dinners for himself and his date late one afternoon. The young cashier at the counter inadvertently gave him the proceeds from the day-a whole bag of money (much of it cash) instead of fried chicken. The store manager had placed the deposit inside a bag that was used for chicken orders.